Fare-box.



H. GBBHART.

FARB BOX.

APPLICATION FILED FBB.11, 1911.

H. GEBHART.

PARE BOX.

APPLIGATION :FILED FEB. 11, 1911.

1,041,614. Patented 0015. 15, 1912.

4 SHEETS-SHEET 2.-

` H. GBBHART.

FARE BOX.

APPLICATION FILED FEB. 11, 1911.

l1,041,614'. 4 Patented oen-15,1912.

4 SHEETS-SHEET 3.

H. GEBHART.

FARE BOX.

APPLIoATmN FILED 111311.11, 191,1.

1,041,614, Patented 001115,1912.

4 SHEETS-SHEET 4.

HENRY GEBHART, 0F DAYTON, OHIO.

FARE-BOX.

. Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Oct. 15,1912.

Application filed February 11, 1911. Serial No. 607,900.

To all whom 'it may cocr'n:

Be it known that I, HENRY GEBHART, a citizen of the United States,residing at Dayton, in the county of Montgomery and State of Ohio, haveinvented certain new and useful Improvements `in Fare-Boxes; and I dodeclare the followingto be a full, clear, and exact description of theinvention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which itappertains to make and use the saine, reference being had to theaccompanying drawings, and to the letters and gures of reference markedthereon, which form a part of this specification.

This invention relates to improvements in fare boxes for use on streetcars and other public conveyances.

The objects of the invention are several, principally to provide anapparatus with means for positively and unerringly delivering the faresto the linal receptacle or till, all as will be hereinafter more fullydescribed in the specification to follow and pointed out in the claims.

Referring to the accompanying drawings, Figure 1 is a side elevation' ofmy improved fare collection box; Fig. 2 is a front elevation of thesame; Fig. Sis a partial sectional view on the line a a of Fig. 1; Fig.4 is a sectional view on the line b I) of Fig. 3; Fig. 5 is a sectionalview on the line o c of Fig.. 3; Fig. 6 is a detail perspective view ofthe turntable releasing device; Fig. 7 is a detail view of a convolutespring; and Fig. 8 is a perspective view of the till or final re-`ceptacle.

Throughout the specification and drawings, similar reference charactersindicate corresponding parts.

Referring more particularly to the drawings, 1 represents a casing ofsuitable dimensions and design; this casing may be supported uponstandards or feet 2. Mounted on the extreme top of said casing is `aninitial fare receiver which vconsists of a base' member 3, cornerupright members 4 betweenr placed by passengers. The interior of saidreceptacle may be provided with inclines 8 which prevent personstampering with the fares after they have been placed in the receptacle.These inclines 8 also direct the fares downwardly in the farereceptacle.

Mounted at the bottom of the said initial `fare receptacle is a chute 9,which communi- -cates with a lower compartment 10 in the casing 1. Atthe upper end of the chute 9 and at the bottom of the initial farereceptacle, are a plurality of rotating'shelves or tables 11 upon whichthe fares fall as they are deposited into the initial fare boX throughthe opening 7 at the top. There are preferably four o f such shelves ortables 11, and these are joined at their ends by disks 12, which,together with the tables 11, provide a series of rotating receptaclesinto which the fares are deposited from above. The series of tables orshelves 11 rotate upon a common axis consisting of a shaft 13journaled'at its ends in bearings `14, and they rotate in a body in thedirection of the arrow, Fig. 4. The lower incline 15 of the initial farereceptacle directs the farestickets and coins-to each table or shelf 11.As is clearly indicated, when a fare is deposited in the opening 7,it'will gravitate to the forward horizontal table 11 and be receivedthereby; each fare may be seen by the conductor who may thus ascertainits acceptability before delivering it to the till 58 within the lowercompartment 10. The tables 11 rotate one .fourth of a revolution toeject each fare into the till by the following Mounted on the shaft 13is a rigid dial 16 vprovided with four lugs 17 corresponding inposition, the finger 18` engages one of the lugs 17 on one side of thedial 16, and when said sliding member 19'is in its opposite position,said linger 18 will engage one of the lugs on the opposite side of thedial 16. The dial 16 is attached to one end of a spring 21, the otherend of which is attached to a hub 22 projecting from a dial 23, as isshown in detail in Fig. 7. The dial 23 is also on the shaft 13', but isloose thereon. The said dial is provided with four cani projections 24arranged in a similar staggered manner to the lugs 17 on dial 16.

` These projections 24 are adapted to engage a cam extension 25 on theslidable member `19, to reciprocate said member 19.

When

the dial 23 is given a quarter revolution, it winds up the spring 2l,and at the end of said quarter revolution, one of the cam projections 24will engage the cam extension 25 and will shift the slidable member 19.The finger 18 thereon will therefore release the lug 17 on dial 16 withwhich it is in engagement, and will be moved to a position to engage oneof the lugs 17 on the opposite side of said dial 16, thus permitting thecompressed spring 21 to rotate dial 16 a fourth of a revolution. It willbe understood that when the finger 18 is released from lug 17 with whichit is in engagement, the spring 21 will rotate the dial 16 one fourth ofa revolution, at which time said dial will be arrested by the lug 17 onthe opposite side thereof engaging the finger 18. The dial 16 and thetables 11 being both rigidly mounted on the shaft 13, said tables willalso be given a quarter revolution at each actuation of the dial 23. Thet-ables 11 being rotated by the spring 21, the movement of said tableswill be sudden, and will positively eject the ticket or coin thereoninto the chute 9, where it will fall by gravity into the till 58 below.The dial 23 is given a quarter revolution by the following means.Mounted on a side of said dial 23 is a four-tooth ratchet 26 engaged bya pawl 27 mounted on a lever 28 fulcrumed on the shaft 13. Aspring-controlled pawl 26a is provided to prevent retrograde movement ofthe ratchet 26. One end of the lever 28 is attached to a link lever 29,which is, in turn, attached to one end of a lever 30 fulcrumed at 31 tothe casing 1. The lever 30 is connected to a foot treadle 32 by meansofv connecting rods 33 anda sliding member 34. The sliding member 34 maybe provided with a suitable form of full-stroke mechanism 35, and thefoot treadle 32 eX- tends to the exterior of the casing 1, where it maybe engaged by the foot of the co-nductor. One of the connect-ing rods 33may be provided with a spring 36 which normally holds the foot treadle32 in an upper position.

To prevent a coin becoming caught at the edge of any of the tables 11,and to thus prevent their rotation, there is mounted within a pocket 37in the base member 3, an inner flap 38 hinged at 39 and controlled by aspring 40, see Fig. 4. The lower edge of the Hap 38 lies parallel withthe edge of each of the tables 11 when in a position to receive thefare; and if for any reason a coin should become lodged between saidedge and said flap, the flap will recede when the tables are rotated andwill thus allow the coin to fall into the chute 9. To further assure thepositive ejection of the fares into the chute 9, should the fares becomeclogged, there may be provided an oscillating curved plate or shield 41which normally lies under i the lower incline 15. This plate 41 ismounted on side plates 42 pivoted on the shaft 13. One of the sideplates 42 is connected to the lever 28 by a link 43, as is shown inFigs. 3 and 5. When the lever 28 is actuated, the plate 41 is also movedand the upper edge thereof will enga-ge any coin that may become lodgedbetween a receiving table 11 and the hinged member 38, and willIdisplace the same. t .The shield 41 is moved completely forward overthe entrance to the tables before the latterV are given over to theaction of the spring 21. It will be borne in mind that the said springis wound up and the shield is moved forward simultaneously by the sameprime element, to wit, the lever 28. Not until after these operationsare completed does the spring transmit movement to the fare-tables. seenthat when said tables are being rotated,

lthere is no possibility of the fares being thrown o the tables.

To recordt-he number of fares as they are deposited in the receiver andejected into the till 58, there is provided a conductors counter 44 andacashiers counter 45. These counters are mo-untedon abutting shafts 46and 47 journaled in bearings 48, and are provided with actuators 49 onshaft 50 mounted onV the lower end of arms 51 see Figs. 3 and 4. These'counters may be of any suitable type. The actuators 49 are connected bymeans of a link 54 to a bell crank lever 52, which is, in turn, attachedto the lever 30 by a connecting rod 53. The shafts 46 and 47 may beprovided with finger pieces 55 and 56 Vby means of which they may bedisconnected and the respective counters may be setto zero. The fingerpiece 55 is on the outside of the casing where Eit may be rotated by theconductor at the end of each trip to set the conductors ycounter toZero. The finger piece 56 is o-n the interior of the casing and 1s onlyaccessible to the cashier, or one having access tothe interior of thedevice.

Within the casing 1 is a partition 57 which forms the lower compartment10 which receives the removable till 58 shown in Figs. 4 and 8. Thistill is so constructedV as to prevent its withdrawaliwithout closing andlocking it, thereby allowing the conductor or other person to remove thetill without having access to it. The said till is provided with a cover59 which slides in grooves 60, and said cover is further provided witha. catch lug 61 adapted to engage the bolt 63 of a spring lock'62 on theinterior of the back of the till. The upper horizontal partition 57 isprovided lwith a spring-control latch 63 having a chamfered face andadapted to engage the back of the till 58 to lock said till A'when movedor placed in position without the cover. The till cover 59 is alsoprovided with a projec- It will therefore be tion 64 adapted to engagethe chamfered face of the latch 63 to release/the till when said coveris slid over the top of the till. lVhen the cover is slid in, the lidprojection 64 engages and elevates the latch 63', the lock bolt 63simultaneously engages the locking lug 61 on the under side of said lidand consequently when the till is permitted to be withdrawn, the coveris locked and no unauthorized person may disturb its contents.

The chute 9 may be provided with a iap 65, (Fig. 4) pivoted at 66, andso/adapted to prevent the fares being removed from the till when thedevice as a whole isreversed from its normal position. This flap willfall by gravity at each time and will close the entrance to the till 58.

The device is operated as follows: Before it is placed in use, the till58, without the lid 59, is inserted within compartment 10 in the casing1 under the chute 9, where it will be locked in position by thespring-controlled latch 63. When a fare is deposited within the initialreceptacle through the slot 7, it falls from the inclines upon a table11 where it is observed through the glass 5 by the conductor beforebeing ejected into the till below. If a fare deposited by a passonger isof the proper class or denomina- Jtion, the conductor presses his footon the treadle 32. This movement rotates the dial 23 one fourth of arevolution, which winds up the spring 21. At the end of this movementone of the cams 24 will shift the slidable member 19, and the nger 18thereof will release a lug 17 on dial 16 and allow the spring 21 torotate said dial and tables 11 one fourth of a revolution, or asuiiicient distance to bring the neXt succeeding table 11 in a positionto receive the fares. `When the finger 18 releases one of the lugs 17,it is moved by one of the cams 25 to a position to be engaged by anotherlug 17 on the opposite side of the dial 16, and to thus limit themovement of thetables. The downward movement of the treadle also movesthe shield or cover 41, which will positively release any coin that maybe caught at the edge of a receiving table 11. The counters 44 and 45are also actuated at the same time through the links 53 and 54 and thebell crank lever 52 to register each fare. When the conductor hasfinished his run, the till 58 may be removed by inserting the lid 59,which releases the spring-controlled latch 63 and simultaneously locksthe lid in a elo-sed position. The till with locked lid may then beremoved.

Certain of the features shown herein, viz., those relating to theoperating mechanism for the revoluble tables, are also shown anddescribed in` my co-pending application, Serial No. 711,807, filed July27, 1912, and form the subject matter of claims therein.

Having described my invention and the manner of its operation, I claim:

1. In a device of the type specified, the combination with a series offare-receiving tables revoluble upon a shaft constituting an axis whichis common to all of said'tables, a spring constituting a motor whichimparts movement to said tables, means adapted to wind said spring andrelease it after each succeeding operation of the t-ables, said meansincluding a pawl and ratchet, and a lever upon which said pawl ismounted, of an oscillating shield connected with said lever and movableabove the tables simultaneously with the operation of winding the springto a position to cover said tables while the spring operates them,substantially as specied.

2. In a device o f the type specified, a series of revolublefare-receiving tables, means for intermittently revolving said tablesconsisting of a spring motor, means adapted to store energy in saidspring motor to release it after each operation of the tables, and anoscillating shield movable over the tables simultaneously with theoperation of storing energy in said motor.

In testimony whereof I affix my signature, in presence of two witnesses.

HENRY GEBHART. Witnesses:

I-IowARD S. SMITH.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for ive cents each, by addressingthe Commissioner of Patents, Washington, Il. G.

